Along with batteries, motors are a must for developing electric cars, and, like batteries, they need continuous improvement to help moving around effectively with as little energy as possible. The Nagoya Institute of Technology just developed a hybrid field motor that is superior to anything on the market in terms of price/quality.
The hybrid field motor works by generating a magnetic force by synchronizing a permanent magnet and an electromagnet. The main advantage is that hybrid field motors only use half of the amount of rare-earth magnet, compared to a synchronous motor, that you can see in today’s hybrid or electric vehicles.
Though it is using less magnets, and thus cheaper, the hybrid field motor has the same size, output density (3.4 kW/kg) and maximum power as a synchronous motor – 123 kW. The output density is not particularly high for a synchronous motor, but it is a record-breaking among hybrid field motors.
The Nagoya researchers used a soft magnetic core (SMC) to make the synchronization of the permanent and the electric magnet. An SMC core is built by applying insulating coating to the surface of magnetic particles such as iron particles, in addition to compression molding and heat treatment.
With the price of rare-earth magnets imported from China rising, due to demand, SMC-based motors are to be a good choice for EV manufacturers.
Great artist! Very informative in nature. I never knew how hybrid motors worked I knew they were battery powered but I’ve never had anyone break it down in these terms. Thanks for sharing!